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Mayor wants the ‘up and up’ on broken-down transit escalators

Council considers lobbying election candidates on LRT funding

During a transportation committee meeting on Wednesday, Edmonton city councillors said that they want to get to the bottom of why escalators in transit stations aren't always working.

Although many escalators are brand new, Mayor Don Iveson said he personally has seen them out of order, adding he often gets complaints via Twitter.

“If we have to spend some money to fix the bloody escalators, then I want to know how much we need to spend, when we need to do it, and get it fixed because it’s driving commuters nuts,” said Mayor Don Iveson.

“If we’re trying to encourage people to use the system and make it accessible, particularly to people with mobility impairments, then escalators are a part of that.”

Passengers are equally frustrated.

"In a month, it's probably a few times you're going to see it being down, and you have to go up and down the stairs," said Fe Medrana, a commuter at the downtown Churchill station on Wednesday.

Iveson asked city administration to look into why the escalators aren’t working, specifically the amount of time they are out of commission.

The mayor said he will continue to push for answers on escalators saying he’ll ask for reports every three months until the situation is fixed and the escalators are running smoothly.